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Get ready to spring forward on Sunday, March 11, at 2 a.m. as Daylight Saving Time begins. Along with checking your smoke detector batteries, make sure you take a moment and check for vehicle safety recalls. Adding this to your spring and fall safety routine keeps you and your family safe all year long. In fact, don’t stop there. Safety recalls can also affect child car seats and tires. You can check for recalls at NHTSA.gov/Recalls.

Before the summer of 2016, Patricia Arcuri did not expect to pursue a career in transportation, but her experience that summer led her down a path she had not seen before.

“It introduced me to an exciting world I did not know about – the transportation industry,” she said. “The transportation industry is fascinating and provides various opportunities for professional development for women with different skills and abilities.”

Spring break is just around the corner. As travelers prepare for any spring break travel with family and friends, it is important to take a few minutes to review the contents of luggage–it makes everyone safer.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) is responsible for regulating and ensuring the safe transportation of hazardous materials (HAZMAT) nationwide. To do so, PHMSA must work closely with its federal partners who help enforce HAZMAT regulations.

I was in Beaumont, Texas, today for the naming of the M/V Liberty Passion, the third ship owned by Liberty Global Logistics to join the Maritime Security Program (MSP) fleet. It was an encouraging event because the addition of Liberty Passion fits perfectly with the Department of Transportation and the Maritime Administration (MARAD) emphasis on growing the MSP at a time when the U.S.-flag fleet is shrinking to unprecedented levels.

To protect our national security and economic prosperity, we must maintain a strong Merchant Marine and MSP, which protects our national security by assuring that the Department of Defense (DOD) retains a powerful, mobile, privately-owned U.S.-flag and U.S.-crewed fleet of commercial ships to call on in times of crisis. The fact that Liberty Global Logistics, one of our long-time partners based in New York, continues to participate in the program is worth celebrating.

All five major transportation modes carried a share of the more than $1 trillion in freight that crossed the U.S. borders with Canada and Mexico in 2016. Based on the value of the freight, trucks carried most – 65.5 percent – a higher share than a year earlier and a decade earlier in 2006.

Rail (15.5 percent), vessel (5.5 percent), pipeline (4.6 percent) and air (3.9 percent) carried the remaining share of cross-border freight. Here is a more detailed look at the shipments on both borders.

Winter is still here, at least it is in some parts of the United States. And since it’s here, snow and ice can create unfavorable driving conditions—making both roads and rails slick, and potentially increasing the chance of your car having a hard time crossing railroad tracks.

That leads to this question: If your car gets stuck on a railroad track, would you know what to do?

Today marks my first month’s return to the Department! The Vice President had presided over my swearing-in and my family was able to attend. The past first four weeks have been filled with meetings, briefings, visits, consultations and outreach to you, members of congress and key stakeholders to be updated on the current issues facing the Department and our country.

This past weekend, I met with a number of governors and spoke to the National Governor’s Association Winter Meeting on “Innovation & Infrastructure.” The nation’s infrastructure was, obviously, on the top of their agenda. It was informative and interesting to learn about the innovative ways governors are tackling infrastructure challenges in their states. They emphasized that each state was different and there is no one-size-fits-all solution to every issue. They wanted flexibility to be able to address the issues within their states. Many states have become incubators of emerging technology and remarkable agents of change. I am looking forward to the Department forming strong partnerships with them going forward.

Sometimes the U.S. Department of Transportation’s many agencies, or modes as they are often called, can be tricky to keep up with. What does each do? Who and what does each serve?

This blog series, called 10 Things on US DOT Modes, will introduce readers to each mode (along with a few sub offices). Today’s blog will explore the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration by listing 10 important or interesting things to know about the agency.

Whether they are emergency responders, city planners, pipeline operators, homeowners, students or just curious neighbors, it’s important for community members to know where pipelines are located so they can be avoided or found, serviced and monitored.